


Tales of Valaar

by CelestialCerebrum



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Dungeons & Dragons - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, F/M, Family Feels, Fantasy, Fluff, M/M, Multi, Other, anything and everything - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-09-12 14:56:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16874967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CelestialCerebrum/pseuds/CelestialCerebrum
Summary: A collection of stories about my D&D character, Princess Aetros Valaar, her family and her party members.





	Tales of Valaar

**Author's Note:**

> Time Travel has played a somewhat crucial role in this campaign. Here, we examine a life where Aetros (once previously very ill with a sickness that caused her magic to unbalance itself and tear her apart from the inside) was still sick and her 2nd cousin, Wallace (one of the campaign’s antagonists) had become a good guy due to some very bizarre events.  
> Also, Hyrsam, Fae Prince of Fools, is here.

These dreams have become so frequent it’s hard to tell what was ever true and where the dream began. I wake often in my room with the imbalanced feeling deep in my chest. Sometimes I can tell if I’m dreaming, sometimes I cannot.

Today, I cannot.

I awaken to the sound of my mother and two handmaids lacing her corset. She turns to meet my gaze, “Aetros! Oh thank goodness, I was worried you wouldn’t be awake when the boat came in.”

“The… boat?” My head is spinning, but I am almost certain she said ‘boat’.

“Yes, dear, the boat,” She takes my hand and we leave her dressing room. I pass by the mirror; my scar is gone, my horns not grown yet, I can’t be older than 15. I start to wonder if it’s normal to question my age if I’m not in a dream.

My mother takes me to the port that usually is only used by our military. Every guard nods and smiles and we walk by, some even bow. The Major General is waiting at the end of the dock.

“Your highnesses,” He bows to both of us.

“The honor is all ours, Raviatan. He would be dreadfully upset if we were not present upon his arrival.” My mother pats my shoulder and smiles.

“I am pleasantly surprised that young Aetros could join us today,”

My cheeks turn red, “Likewise, Sir…” At this moment, I am not entirely sure who it is I am waiting on. I know she said the General, but is it customary for us to greet the military after a mission? We’ve never had to before. 

“There she is! The General’s ship!” Major General Raviatan points at a military vessel floating on the horizon.

A very familiar horned figure stands on the bow on the ship, hands behind back, eyes on the horizon.

“Dad…” I whisper quietly. I see my mother smile. 

It’s strange; every time I see him in a dream, every time I see him at all, it feels like the first time all over again. I hope I never forget what that feels like.

The boat drops anchor, two lines of soldiers walk past us before the General finally steps out onto the dock.  
“Welcome back, General Valaar.”

“Reserve the formalities for the War Room, Ravi,” He turns to greet mother and I, embracing us simultaneously, “I missed you both so much,” My mother kisses his cheek, he returns the gesture. Mother steps away so that my dad can sweep me off my feet and twirl with me in his arms. “Especially you, kiddo.”

I feel tears swell in my eyes, “I’m so glad you’re back.” he feels almost too large for me to wrap my arms around, but that doesn’t stop me.

“Aww come on, I know that you have to have missed Wallace just a tiny bit.”

“Wall-”

I hear a faint, subtle, “Boo,” over my left shoulder. It’s enough for me to jump out of my father’s arms in fright, nearly falling into the water.

“Woah!” Wallace grabs my hand and pulls me closer, “I didn’t mean to actually scare you.”

“Come, you two, we can talk about the college together.” My mother ushers down the boardwalk.

The college?

\---

“So we’re calling it the ‘Valaar Institution of Science’ and we should be opening some time before Winter. The site is beautiful and the architects have done a wonderful job. I’m hoping that I will get to take Aetros before classes begin.”

“I think that’s a wonderful idea. We’re all so proud of you. I’m sure your father would be too.” Mother pats Wallace’s shoulder reassuringly. 

I almost can’t believe it. Wallace was before me, a changed man with intentions on educating future generations. A man who wanted to leave a legacy. Could I trust it? Was this truly someone bent on changing their future or did my mind fabricate something more twisted than the reality itself?

“You’ve been awfully quiet, dear, “ My father looks to me, “Is everything alright?”

“U-uh, y-yes… I just haven’t felt very well today. Forgive me, everyone.” I nervously take a sip of my tea.

“I understand, Aetros. I can take you back to your room, if you’d like.” Wallace smiles dearly.

“Oh, would you? Katayida and I have some personal matters to discuss.” Mother looks at me, “Don’t worry, it’s nothing serious.”

Wallace extends his arm. I take it.

We walk in silence.

“... I know today is hard for you,” He says to me, solemn.

“... in what way?”

“Well… y’know… it’s kinda the anniversary of my mother’s e-execution…”

Excuse me? “I would think that would be harder on you,” I am trying my best to blend into the situation, “She was your mother.”

“Yeah, but she tried to kill you. Like, in public,” Well, he has me beat there, “Besides, we weren’t close. I can’t really feel bad for someone I hardly knew.”

I hope Maelline is rolling in her grave, “I guess you have a point.”

“Parents are just people who have children. Family are the people who love and care about you,” Wallace looks to me, “You, Lissa and Katayida are my family.”

“I-I’m honored… you feel this way…” I can’t believe it. I physically can’t believe it. The fabric of the dream shivers. I’m reminded of the real Wallace, the other Wallace? The one that wanted to conquer the world and create abominations, the morally corrupt one, the one that tried to kill us more than once.

I cry out as the memories flood back to me, my knees hit the floor. I can’t stop shaking. 

“Aetros! What happened?! Are you okay? What can I do?” Wallace comes to my aide. Why is he- which one is he? I can’t- I can’t remember.

“Talk to me! What do you need? Please tell me what’s wrong!” he begs.

“I… I remember everything.”

And I black out.

 

\---

Reality stabs me with a sharp dagger. This isn’t a dream; it’s a memory. A memory from another time. This is the world where my father never left and Maelline was overthrown. This is the world I had always wondered about. But I don’t understand; what good is it to experience this if I can’t remember anything else? To me, my father barely knows who I am, despite loving me unconditionally, Maelline is alive and hellbent on my death, and Wallace is right beside her. 

In the end, what do I believe? What should I trust? How do I know that this will last? How long will this last? I know what is real.

But do I even want to remember what’s real anymore?

I feel something gently trace the points of my horns, it moves down my cheek, and stops at my chin. 

“Well, this is certainly odd.”

That voice. I know that voice. I know that voice.

“Weren’t your horns bigger before you fell asleep, honey?”

HYRSAM????

I jump to life. There he is; the fae spirit himself, Hyrsam the fool. And I’m in his bed. I think.

“Did… did anything happen while I was asleep?” I ask, exasperated.

“No idea, I left for a moment to check on something,” he makes the face where he pretends he’s not reading my mind. His eyes widen and he jumps back.

“What? What is it?”

“U-uh… this might be a weird question. What’s the last thing you remember?”

“I was back at home. I was like… 15? My father was a General and Wallace was about to open a college. I passed out in the hallway after… after…”

Hyrsam throws a dress my way, “I just want to make it very clear, I did not make out with you while you looked like a teenager.”

“Do I look like one now?”

He nods fervently, averting his eyes.

I clothe myself, embarrassed for whatever version of myself I am living through, “So… what reality is this?”

 

“How do you mean?”

“What makes this world different from the others? I was just in the one where Maelline was overthrown and executed. I think I live in the one where there’s a war going on and there are spiders everywhere?”

He looks distant.

“Please, I need to know. It’s getting really hard to sort my thoughts.”

“... Well, Lolth’s threat is gone here…”

“Uhuh and?”

“You’re the only one who lived.”

“The… only one?”

He nods, “No one survived.”

“Hyrsam, you have to tell me what happened,” I reach for his hand, he pulls away, “I’m scared, I don’t even really know where I am anymore… I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t important.”

He falls quiet for a moment.

And sighs deeply.

\---

The sky is gray with storming clouds, creatures I couldn’t begin to identify swarming around us. I hold tight to Daxos as we bound across the battlefield, blood oozing from a gash in my side among other places. I look across the landscape, a familiar Dragonborn staves off a Chitine while she stands over a druid I recognize as Blodeuwedd. A little ways down, I see a Barbarian man fall to the might of several spiders. The blood and gore goes on for what feels like miles, my head feels light, I hear the calls of my loved ones, some distant, some close. Daxos finally stops, wrapping his long, displaced tendrils around me and tossing me into what I realize now is a portal. I reach towards him, but he runs away. I hear his roar echo from the beyond as I am now displaced from place and time. 

The Feywild is bright and beautiful, unsuitable for my damaged body and my cries of pain. The corner of my eye catches the sight of another body, I crawl towards it, noticing it rested against another. A Drow and a Half-Elf, Jaron and Cyrus. Jaron’s breath rattles, his head against Cyrus’s chest. “W-we held on… as long as possible…” He turns around, his eyes finally meeting mine. His gaze shifted to my injured body, “Aetros, you’re…”

“I can’t look… is it bad?” I choke, blood falling from my lips into the dirt.

Jaron stood up, revealing the extent of his injuries; a spider’s leg through his arm and several leg-sized holes in his body. Weakly, he dragged me over to Cyrus, I felt a cry in my throat, but he silenced me, “I know. It’s okay.” He resumed his position, cradling the two of us now. 

I reached for Cyrus’s hand, he barely curled his fingers around mine. He pressed his face against my arm and smiled. I felt it when he stopped breathing.

I started to wail, holding tightly to what was left of him. Jaron coughed, his breathing slowing down. I turned to him in horror, but all he could do was smile.

And then I was alone.

\---

Hyrsam held me tightly as I relived those memories, each one in painful detail. He whispered to me quietly, “I’m sorry I wasn’t fast enough…” as I sobbed in his arms. 

This reality felt cold and inhospitable now and all I wanted to do was leave again. I would take the fake smile on Wallace’s smug face over losing all of my family and comrades to Lolth’s tyrade. I would take it in stride even if there were a knife through my heart.

“Aetros- You’re-” Hyrsam quickly let go of me, calling to attention the scars on my body, fresh and bleeding.

“Make it stop!” I try to lay on hands myself, to no avail.

Hyrsam conjures a small pile of bandages and healing salves, generously covering me in each. I’m shaking by the end, sobbing through each wrap of the cloth. Hyrsam looks distressed, even moreso than the last time I had seen him, (but he didn’t need to know about that). When he finishes, he takes a step back, “I uh… I’ll let you rest for a bit. It sounds like you need it.” he leaves the room quietly. I am alone again.

I close my eyes, wondering when this sick dream will end.

“I just want to go home…” I whisper.

\---

I am greeted by the pitch black void instead.

I float aimlessly.

Quietly.

“You.”

Or so I thought.

I turn around and face my companion in this void.

Wallace charges at me, his hands aimed for my neck. I quickly dodge and float to the side.

“You did this. You put me here!!” he put the toe of his boot to my head, but the force only pushed me.

“I haven’t done anything! I’m just as confused as you!!” I moved a fist in his direction, pushing him away in a similar fashion. We continued pushing each other until we realised this was doing nothing. 

“I don’t need to kill you to get out of here. I can find some other way.” Wallace examined his surroundings fervently with his calculating stare.

“Get out? Aren’t you dead?” The last thing I remembered before I switched realities was Ælfric with his sword, gutting Wallace where he stood. You don’t just forget that you died.

Wallace paused, then continued to look around, “As if that’s going to stop me. I’d take a thousand more lifetimes of watching my miserable lives play out than sit here with you.” 

“Wallace… I don’t think you get to leave.”

“And what makes you think that you do?”

“If you want me to be honest, I saw 15 year old me die in a hallway, watched my friends and family die in my arms, I apparently also had sex with a fae prince, and that’s just what I’ve seen today.” I concede.

“You’ve seen your other lives as well?”

We share a knowing gaze.

“... What happened in yours?”

“Anything and everything, in grave detail. Including the things you mentioned.”

“What happened after we were in the hallway?”

He scoffed, “You went into a coma then died 2 weeks later. I had a nervous breakdown and resigned control of that university to someone else. Immediately began studying the dark arts in attempt to bring you back, pissed off the god of death, Katayida killed me out of ‘mercy.’ That was a boring one. Very out of character for me.”

“Gods. That’s horrible.”

“Nowhere near as bad as the one where the woman I fell in love with became brainwashed and tied me to our mattress to kill me. Love is an odd thing, let me tell you.” He laughed as though it were a joke. He had been brutally murdered at least 3 times and he was laughing about it.

“Are you not the slightest bit disturbed that you’ve died so horribly?”

“Disturbance is subjective. As is happiness. Why do you ask? I know you don’t feel sympathy towards me.” His eyes pierced through me, callousness unmatched.

“Well… you’re right to assume that I don’t sympathize with you entirely, but I understand how you feel. A little.”

“I find that very hard to believe, your highness,” Wallace crossed his arms, “Pray tell how the suffering of others looks from high upon your horse?”

“What makes you think my life was so easy?” I hear the void echo my words, amplifying them, intensifying them, “And what do you care for the suffering of others anyway?”

Wallace becomes quiet.

“Perhaps you should recall those alternate lives of yours and jog your memory; my life was in no way easy.”

“It was because you were weak.” Wallace muttered.

“It was so much more than that and you know it.”

Wallace’s brow furrowed as he straightened his back out, “This conversation is pointless. Your presence here is pointless-”

“Why? Because I don’t agree with you? Because maybe, just maybe, we’re not-”

“We are strangers, Aetros.” His voice echoed across the void, “Whatever sympathetic comparison you are looking for doesn’t exist. Not where you’re from anyway.”

“... That’s not what I-”

“Open your eyes, child. You can’t begin to fathom why I would do the things I have because you’re too ‘good’ and ‘noble’ to be affiliated with someone who takes what they know is theirs. You can’t understand why we’re so different when we’re so very similar.”

His words linger in the air.

I see his gaze falter momentarily, but return to it’s cold resting place. He knows more than I can comprehend.

“Is that how you feel about me?” I ask, naively.

“I see so much more in you. It is beyond me why you squander such a powerful being,” he almost sounds sincere, “Had I known that I didn’t necessarily need…” his hands begin to quiver and eminate a faint light, “What are you doing?”

“I’m not doing anything, I’m listening to-” he draws attention to my own glow. We exchange confused looks as the world around us changes, “Wallace?”

Wallace is changing. His hair grows long and his clothes change entirely. His scars from mechanical augments disappear. I am standing before a completely different man, and it becomes apparent the moment he opens his mouth.

“Is that what you remembered?”

I recall our last conversation. He held me in his arms as I died, overwhelmed by the knowledge of my previous lives. He had seen it all. Now he understood.

My hands were still glowing. I open my mouth to speak, but something stops me; the sound of my own voice, speaking instead.

“I missed you so much. Wallace!” A ghost of my former self runs past me, into his arms. The scene plays in reverse, and plays again on repeat. More Wallaces appear. More Aetros appear. They hold each other tightly. They push each other away. They talk. They nod. They laugh. They cry. They scream. But in the end, they walk together into a beacon of light, content with what had become.

One by one they disappear. And once again, I am left with Wallace from my time.

He seems uncomfortable.

“You okay…?”

“Did you notice how many of them were happy to see each other?”

I had, actually. “Quite a few, wouldn’t you say?”

“More than I thought there’d be.”

The void quaked around us, but Wallace stood unphased.

“I’m sure your friends are waiting for you.” He gestured behind me, a pillar of blue light stretched beyond the bounds of space. No such pillar was behind Wallace.

“But what about-”

“It’s clear that I have some thinking to do.” he folds his hands calmly behind his back.

The pillar draws me in.

“Wallace?”

“Yes, Aetros?”

“I…” The pillar takes in my arm, “I’m glad we got a chance to talk.”

“Likewise, your highness.”

And then, I remember nothing.


End file.
